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He carries a salary cap hit of $3.607 million and is signed for the next three seasons, but there has been plenty of talk that his career might be over. Ohlund, who had surgery on both of his knees, hasn't played since May 27, 2011. Wed, Oct 2, 2013 08:23:00 AM

According to Swedish newspaper Norrbottens-Kuriren, Mattias Ohlund is considering calling it a career.

He said there is "no need to make any final decision" yet, but he hasn't played in two seasons and he may have to " ... realize that the conditions to play again becomes less and less." Ohlund hasn't played since May 27, 2011 due to injured knees. Mon, Sep 2, 2013 10:53:00 AM

Tampa Bay would still be on the hook for a $1.357 million cap hit through Mattias Ohlund's contract 2015-16 finish if he chose to retire this summer.

According to capgeek.com, Ohlund's deal provided the Lightning with $4.071 million in "cap relief," which is the amount during the years he played in which his salary was greater than his cap hit. He admitted that his chances of "playing again are very minor" and he hasn't played since 2011. Ohlund cannot be bought out by Tampa because of his injured knees. Tue, Jun 4, 2013 10:09:00 AM

Mattias Ohlund (knee) still isn't close to being able to resume his NHL career.

Ohlund hasn't played in an NHL game since May 27, 2011. He's signed through 2015-16, but at this point retirement seems likely for the 36-year-old. "I've thought about (the next step) quite a bit, but it clearly involves more people than me," Ohlund said. "I've spoke to Steve (Yzerman) quite a bit about what the end result will be. For a long period of time I've been trying to get better and better, but clearly the longer you don't play, the likelihood of playing again gets smaller and smaller each day, especially at my age. I don't know long term what my situation will be, but I'm sure it will be figured out shortly." Mon, Apr 8, 2013 10:41:00 AM

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According to Swedish newspaper Norrbottens-Kuriren, Mattias Ohlund is considering calling it a career.

He said there is "no need to make any final decision" yet, but he hasn't played in two seasons and he may have to " ... realize that the conditions to play again becomes less and less." Ohlund hasn't played since May 27, 2011 due to injured knees.

Tampa Bay would still be on the hook for a $1.357 million cap hit through Mattias Ohlund's contract 2015-16 finish if he chose to retire this summer.

According to capgeek.com, Ohlund's deal provided the Lightning with $4.071 million in "cap relief," which is the amount during the years he played in which his salary was greater than his cap hit. He admitted that his chances of "playing again are very minor" and he hasn't played since 2011. Ohlund cannot be bought out by Tampa because of his injured knees.

Mattias Ohlund (knee) still isn't close to being able to resume his NHL career.

Ohlund hasn't played in an NHL game since May 27, 2011. He's signed through 2015-16, but at this point retirement seems likely for the 36-year-old. "I've thought about (the next step) quite a bit, but it clearly involves more people than me," Ohlund said. "I've spoke to Steve (Yzerman) quite a bit about what the end result will be. For a long period of time I've been trying to get better and better, but clearly the longer you don't play, the likelihood of playing again gets smaller and smaller each day, especially at my age. I don't know long term what my situation will be, but I'm sure it will be figured out shortly."

Mattias Ohlund hasn't laced up his skates since November 2011 because of his surgically-repaired knees and his career may be over.

He said he is "not close to working out or even skating" and his recovery has not gone the way he hoped or expected. "Clearly I have to be realistic. I haven't played for a year and a half," he said. "Nobody has told me it's impossible to ever play again but, clearly, the longer it goes the chances of that are getting tougher and tougher. ... Clearly, you have to be realistic that the chances are not great." Ohlund is still owed $11.75 million on his contract that runs through 2015-16 and since he is injured he doesn't qualify to be bought out by the team. He's expected to talk with GM Steve Yzerman at some point this season about his future.

Mattias Ohlund continues rehabilitation on his surgically-repaired knee but is not even close to returning to the ice.

The veteran defenseman had major knee surgery 10 months ago and at the age of 35 his NHL career is in doubt. We wish Ohlund the best of luck in his recovery. There is no guarantee we will ever see him in an NHL uniform again, however.

Mattias Ohlund (knee) is feeling better, but a return to the NHL is still a ways away.

The 35-year-old defenseman had major knee surgery six months ago "in which a thin layer of titanium was used to resurface his femur at the patellofemoral joint behind his kneecap." He missed all of last season. Ohland says day-to-day activities are no longer a pain, but there's no timetable and no certainty that he'll ever be able to return. "Do I have a dream to still play hockey? Yeah, I do," Ohlund said. "I'm slowly getting better. But I don't know what the end result will be. ... Have I thought about not being able to play? Absolutely. But at this point my focus is to get better tomorrow and the next day. I can see improvements. I'm not sure where it will take me but I'm quite positive about how I feel compared to a couple of months ago."

Erik Erlendsson wasn't very optimistic about Mattias Ohlund's knee being strong enough for him to return to the Tampa Bay Lightning next season.

Erlendsson responded to a question about his return by saying, "Wouldn't count on it and I don't think the Lightning are either." Ohlund missed all of the 2011-12 season with that knee problem. The Swedish blueliner has a whopping four years remaining on an albatross of a deal, so this might be a pattern during the next few off-seasons.

Mattias Ohlund isn't sure if he can bounce back from the major knee surgery he underwent in February.

"I want to give myself another chance to play and I’m hoping that’s going to happen, but who knows?" Ohlund said. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knees last summer before undergoing the more recent procedure. As a result, he didn't play at all in 2011-12. He'll turn 36 in September, but he's signed through the 2015-16 campaign.

The procedure will use a thin layer of titanium to resurface the bottom of the femur behind his kneecap to prevent the bone-on-bone rubbing at the patellofemoral joint that the veteran defenseman has been experiencing. Ohlund underwent arthroscopic surgery on both knees during the off-season and while his right knee has recovered, his left has continued to be an issue. He isn't expected to return this year and his career could be in jeopardy as well, but the 35-year-old defender said he is "determined to come back as soon as possible."

Mattias Ohlund (knee) continues to work out off the ice but his return to action this season is uncertain.

There has been no real progress in Ohlund's recovery from surgery on both his knees. "Nothing has changed. We are still rehabbing and trying to get better,'' Ohlund said. "It is obviously going slower than everybody was hoping, but it is what it is. We are still trying to figure something out about the rehab and find the right solution.''We don't have high hopes for Ohlund for the balance of this campaign.

Ohlund hasn't played yet this season and he hasn't even skated in roughly a month. "It just hurts him a lot more than what he would have expected or the doctors would have expected," Lightning coach Guy Boucher said. "It's … difficult to manage because you can't do much more than what's been done. It's pain tolerance. It's a question of mobility. It's a question of can he skate at the level in the NHL he needs to follow."

Mattias Ohlund has suffered a setback in his recovery from arthroscopic surgery on both knees.

"He's having some discomfort," GM Steve Yzerman said, "so we're going to back off a little bit and re-evaluate and look at other ways that he can get back to training." Ohlund resumed skating by himself in mid-November and worked his way back to a couple of morning skates, but he will stay off the ice for awhile and rehab again for the time being. There's no timetable for his season debut.

Mattias Ohlund skated on Tuesday for a second straight day in his recovery from arthroscopic surgery on both knees.

"Things never progress the way you want them to," Ohlund said. "But today feels better than I did the other day, so we'll just get ready for the next step and take it a day at a time." He has not played yet this season after undergoing the procedure on Oct. 11, but it looks he's getter closer.

Valtteri Filppula found the back of the net in Tuesday's 5-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Filppula's goal came late in the third period with his team trailing 5-0 at the time. Brayden Point and Andrej Sustr picked up the assists on Tampa Bay's lone marker. Filppula has five goals and 11 assists in 23 games this season.

Brian Boyle scored in the fourth round of a shootout as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Washington Capitals 2-1 Saturday night.

The pressure was on Boyle as the Lightning were back on their heels with a four-game losing streak. During this stretch, the Bolts scored only one goal in two of their contests, but the other two losses came with three goals against the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 25th and the St Louis Blues on Thursday. Nikita Kucherov scored the lone goal for Tampa Bay in regulation.

The Lightning went into the third period trailing 2-1, but Killorn managed to tie the game before Ryan Callahan gave them a lead just 12 seconds later. After a hot start, Killorn has slowed down considerably. He's scored just two goals in his last 14 contests (the goals have come in his last four games). Killorn has eight goals and four assists in 21 games this season. He's on pace to surpass his career-high of 17 goals.

Vladislav Namestnikov will be scratched against the Blues on Thursday.

Namestnikov has posted just three goals and 10 points in 24 games this season with 10 PIMs and hits. However his time had been on the downslide lately, perhaps tonight is a good opportunity to sit back and learn.

Jonathan Drouin scored a goal in Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

Drouin's goal at the 11:46 mark of the second period cut Vancouver's lead to 3-1, but that's as close as the Bolts would come to tying the game. The marker snaps Drouin's seven-game goal drought. He has four goals and seven assists in 20 games this season.

He opened December with a goal and an assist against St. Louis on Thursday, but before that he tallied 10 goals and 18 points in 15 November matches. Kucherov is second in the NHL with 28 points in 24 games.

Brayden Point earned a pair of assists in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

He has recorded two multi-point performances in his last four games to give him nine points in 21 appearances with the Lightning. Point helped set up goals by Victor Hedman (power play) and Ryan Callahan on Wednesday night.

Victor Hedman has extended his point-streak to four games with his fifth goal of the season during Sunday's 4-1 loss to Boston.

Hedman has posted two goals and four points during the streak, and he's now up to 17 points in 23 games this season. He's on pace to collect his fourth straight double-digit goal season, and could top his career high of 13 before long.

Slater Koekkoek made his season debut Tuesday night versus the New York Islanders.

He collected two assists and a plus-2 rating in 13:12 of ice time. "It's encouraging," Koekkoek said. "I've worked hard for it, and am thankful for the opportunity." He spent the first three games of the regular season in the press box as a healthy scratch before going to the minors for some playing time.

Jason Garrison appeared to be on track to return Thursday, so Witkowski's presence does raise some concerns. Perhaps Garrison isn't ready after all or maybe Witkowski is simply up with the Lightning as insurance. We should know more after the morning skate.

Ben Bishop was pulled after allowing four goals on 20 shots in Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

Bishop finished the second period, but didn't come out for the third period. The Lightning's starter is going through a tough stretch. He has just one win in his last seven games. Bishop has an 8-10-1 record with a 2.86 goals-against-average and a .906 save percentage this season. If this slide continues, he might start losing starts to Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Andrei Vasilevskiy got the opportunity to make his second start in a row Thursday to try to bounce back from a tough outing against Columbus on Tuesday.

"Vasilevskiy's played extremely well. We've been on a little bit of a tough run here," coach Jon Cooper said. "'Vasy' is on the wrong end of a tough one. We've gone back to 'Bish' on those. We're going back with Vasy in this situation." He permitted five goals on 38 shots to the Blue Jackets and he was pulled against St. Louis after he allowed four goals on 16 shots. Tampa Bay has lost four straight games and the team needs better goaltending from Vasilevskiy and Ben Bishop.